Ordering Food

Ordering vegan food can be a little challenging in Japan. But, aside from the communication issues, it is often easier to find vegan food in a restaurant in Japan than in many Western countries. For example, most restaurants serve vegan-friendly food like rice, tofu, edamame and salad. It’s easy to have a meal like this almost anywhere:

But back to the communication issue. Unfortunately vegetarianism is not well known in Japan, and veganism is pretty much unheard of. Even once the idea is explained, there is often little understanding of which ingredients can and can’t be eaten. It is therefore common to hear stories of vegans and vegetarians served dishes sprinkled with bacon (for example) even after explaining that they don’t eat meat.

This means that you can’t simply say that you are vegan and ask which items on the menu you can eat, or rely on the restaurant to make a vegan dish for you. You need to do a lot of work yourself and be vigilant about the ingredients to be used.

First, it’s a good idea to see whether there are any naturally vegan dishes available. As mentioned above, these include things like rice, tofu, edamame and salad. They can be easy options if you don’t want to try to do a lot of communicating with wait staff. Another option is to find a dish that is almost vegan and ask for some small changes to be made. For example, you might be able to order a vegetable pizza without cheese. (Just be careful to check for animal-based ingredients, such as egg in salad dressings, bacon in salads, and fish flakes and fish sauces often served with tofu.)

Below are some useful phrases you can use when ordering food. When talking to wait staff please remember to be polite and not demanding. Most people in Japan (especially outside the big cities like Tokyo) have no knowledge of veganism and they will need your help to know what to check for. Try to make it a positive learning experience for them, or at least not a negative one!

Do you have _____________________?

If you’re having trouble reading the menu, you can ask whether they have any vegan-friendly food, like tofu. You can say:

Do you have _____________________?
_____________________ はありますか
(_____________________ wa arimasu ka?)

For example:
Do you have edamame?
枝豆はありますか
(Edamame wa arimasu ka?)

To answer you they will say probably say one of the following:

Yes (はい – hai) / No (いいえ – iie)
We have it (あります – arimasu) / We don’t have it (ありません – arimasen)

If you see a vegan dish on the menu, you can order it by just pointing and saying:

One of these please
これをひとつお願いします
(Kore wo hitotsu onegaishimasu)

I am vegan/vegetarian

If you want to try something a little more complicated, it’s good to put your request in context. The best approach is usually to say you are vegetarian (rather than vegan), but to explain this in a way that is consistent with veganism. It is especially important to clearly say that you don’t eat fish, as many people think vegetarians eat fish. So start by saying you are vegetarian:

I am vegetarian
私はベジタリアンです
(Watashi wa bejitarian desu)

Instead of saying ‘bejitarian’ (the katakana pronunciation of ‘vegetarian’) you could also say ‘saishoku shugisha’ 菜食主義者, being the Japanese phrase for vegetarian, however it is a bit of a mouthful and ‘bejitarian’ is usually understood better.

As noted above, veganism is not well known in Japan, but if you want to say you are vegan it’s better to use the Japanese phrase ‘kanzen saishoku shugisha’ 完全菜食主義者 rather than ‘bīgan’ (the katakana pronunciation of ‘vegan’), as many people are not familiar with the word ‘bīgan.’ This phrase is a bit more difficult to say than ‘bejitarian’ and it can also be a little confusing because this concept is usually associated with Buddhist monks.

I am vegan
私は完全菜食主義者です
(Watashi wa kanzen saishoku shugisha desu)

I don’t eat _____________________

You can then explain what being vegetarian (or vegan) means; what you don’t eat:

I don’t eat _____________________
私は _____________________ を食べません
(Watashi wa _____________________ wo tabemasen)
Note: You can use ‘tabenai’ (食べない) instead of tabemasen to be more casual.

Please refer to the dictionary to see a list of other animal products written in Japanese.

Another option is to say you are allergic to certain ingredients. This is up to you, but unfortunately it still may not guarantee that the ingredients are not in the dish (some people here assume a little of something is ok).

As mentioned above, simply saying you are vegetarian/vegan and listing the things you don’t eat usually won’t get you very far. The next few phrases will be much more helpful when ordering vegan food.

Does this contain _____________________?

When you find something that looks potentially vegan you can ask whether it contains a particular animal product. For example, you can ask whether the miso soup contains fish stock and whether the sweets contain gelatine. Just point at the menu (or the dish if it is displayed) and say:

To ask about more than one ingredient use the connecting word ‘tokka’ e.g. ‘Kore wa sakana no dashi tokka chīzu ga haitte imasu ka?’ (Does this contain fish stock or cheese?).

Or you can check by saying:

There is no _____________________ in this is there?
これは _____________________ が入っていませんですか
(Kore wa _____________________ ga haitemasen desu ka?)
Note: You can use ‘hatenai’ (入っていない) instead of haitemasen to be more casual.

Once you know whether a dish contains animal ingredients, you can ask for changes to be made. For example, you can order pizza without cheese or tofu without fish flakes. If it’s a simple change, you can say:

Try to choose one of the sentences which is easy for you to say and practice before you have to order. To help make the meaning clear you can say:

It is ok if it is the same price
料金は同じでいいです
(Ryoukin wa onaji de ii desu)

It may also help to carry some vegan condiments with you, such as balsamic vinegar. Then you can order dishes without sauces and dressings and add your own.

Can I have _____________________ instead of _____________________?

This phrase is useful for ordering dishes like tempura (assuming the batter contains no egg). Often restaurants serve a set with mixed tempura including shrimp. You can use this phrase to ask whether it is possible to swap the shrimp for more vegetables. You can say:

This is such an in-depth article about asking food without meet in Japan! Sometimes I had a hard time to order dish without meat here (in Hong Kong) let alone asking in Japanese in Japan. A big thank you and I’m so excited to try my Japanese!